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Chairman calls for a halt to controversial state transmission line project

07/31/26 | Dakota Morrissiey

The Texas Capitol. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey

After more than 15 hours of testimony at a Wednesday, July 29, hearing of the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, Chairman Charles Schwertner called for a complete denial of the proposed transmission line project looming over Burnet County. His statement and stance have quickly gained support from his fellow Texas legislators and the lieutenant governor. 

Dozens of Texas residents, many from Burnet County, attended the hearing on Wednesday at the Texas Capitol to voice their concerns about the 765 kilovolt high-voltage transmission line project that would see hundreds of miles of lines, towers, and vast easements cut through the center of the state to bring power to the Permian Basin region of West Texas. 

Many landowners shared with the committee that they felt blindsided by the project and that they had little time to react to the news and to properly participate in its development.

“I am calling on the (Public Utility Commission of Texas) to deny the existing (certificates of convenience and necessity) applications (for the 765 kV project),” wrote Schwertner in a Friday, July 31 letter to the PUCT. “The legislature will reform the CCN process next session to ensure future projects are fair and transparent.”

His call to action, if heeded, would mean stopping the progress of the project altogether, and require an assessment of the CCN process to be performed by the 90th Texas Legislature, which will meet in 2027.

Schwertner and his colleagues on the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce heard hours of testimony from representatives with the PUCT and those potentially impacted by the lines on Wednesday. The committee had been tasked with reviewing the 765-kV transmission project prior to its approval by the PUCT. 

The PUCT was in the midst of reviewing the project, with a decision to be made this coming September. With Schwertner’s statement made public, the PUCT will now have to weigh whether or not it will move forward with the project, pause it, or completely deny it.

“I’m excited to see our participation in the system is actually doing something,” Burnet County resident Mia Sarot told DailyTrib. “If you participate you can actually achieve something.”

Sarot has been one of the loudest voices in opposition to the 765-kV line project, and she was one of many that attended Wednesday’s hearing to voice her concerns. 

Burnet County Pct. 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle spoke at Wednesday’s committee hearing, representing his constituents who would have been the most impacted by the 765-kV project. 

“I mean it’s hard to put into words what a major win this is to me. Power to the people,” he told DailyTrib. “This is huge, I feel.”

Both Beierle and Sarot noted that there was still more work to be done. 

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” she added. “(Schwertner) is not a final decision maker, it’s up to the PUCT commissioners, but I think it is a signal of a turning tide.”

But, Schwertner is not alone. 

“It’s clear the overwhelming number of witnesses in rural Texas are not supportive of the current process. They want it paused. Some want it stopped entirely,” Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wrote in a statement of support for Schwertner’s letter. “I agree with Chairman Schwertner in calling on the PUC to deny the pending applications for 765-kV transmission lines, and not consider re-applications, until the transmission companies can address the serious concerns raised by landowners at Wednesday’s hearing.”

House District 19 Rep. Ellen Troxclair, representing Burnet County, also voiced her support. She has been a consistent, outspoken critic of the transmission project for months. 

“Thank you to Chairman Schwertner for calling on the (PUCT) to deny the existing 765 kV CCN applications until the CCN process is overhauled to give Texans the fair notice and due process they deserve,” she said. “We are incredibly grateful to the landowners and concerned citizens who showed up, stayed late into the night, and shared their experiences. Your testimony brought these issues to light and demonstrated why reform was necessary.”

Senate District 24 Sen. Pete Flores, also representing Burnet County, too lent his support to Schwertner’s call. 

“I agree that reapplications need to take the concerns raised during the recent Senate Business and Commerce hearing and I look forward to working on reforming the process during the next Legislative session,” he wrote.

Background on the Bell County East to Big Hill 765 kV Transmission Line

The Bell County East to Big Hill 765-kV Transmission Project has been on Burnet County’s radar since June 2025. Since then, public opposition and protest has risen and the county has officially taken up opposition to the state project. 

The transmission line project’s intention is to bring power to West Texas, but many Burnet County residents believe that it would be at the expense of Hill Country landowners.

The project was mandated by the Texas Legislature in 2023 through House Bill 5066. The bill aimed to increase the reliability of the Texas electric grid, and also specifically targeted bringing power to the Permian Basin region of West Texas. 

The Public Utility Commission of Texas took on the task, requesting the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct a study on the power needs of the Permian Basin, resulting in the Permian Basin Reliability Study. 

The results of that study showed a massive increase in the projected demand for electricity from that region, mostly to satisfy an estimated addition of 11,695 megawatts to the grid from the non-oil and gas industry. Per ERCOT’s study, this load would be made up of 59 percent cryptocurrency operations, 22 percent “green hydrogen” projects, 13 percent “other” commercial and industrial projects, and 6 percent datacenters. Power would also be used to electrify the petroleum industry in West Texas.

Once ERCOT’s study was completed, the PUCT tasked Oncor Electric Delivery and the Lower Colorado River Authority with devising a plan to deliver more power to the Permian Basin. After months of planning the organizations created a preliminary plan and route for 765 kilovolt powerlines to be run from Central Texas to West Texas. Burnet County was notified of the plans, and the fact that it would likely be included in all possible routes, in May 2025. 

The project, to be paid for by the state, has an estimated total cost of $33 billion, and would include three major lines, including the Bell County East to Big Hill project. 

Read the DailyTrib stories below to learn more:

dakota@thepicayune.com

News stories, staff photos, and other online content are copyrighted property of Victory Media. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without the express written consent of the publisher.

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